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Perahia's set by Sony is another popular recommended set. The playing is typical of Perahia's extremely polished and scholarly, though if you are looking for fiery or passionate performances Cziffra's set is undoubtedly the one to get. Sokolov recorded complete Op 25 in a CD coupled with the 2nd sonata, I think it is the best Op 25 in the market now. Richter recorded some selections of the etudes in his Richter in Praque set, which are also worth listening.

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only what you are expecting to give — which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving." Katharine Hepburn

My two cents: Edward Kilenyi and Guiomar Novaes and Alexander Jenner! There are a number of good recordings, as to be expected, so it sort of depends on the type of playing you prefer, also mentioned above.

pianoloverus
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Juana Zayas got the vote fot the best recording in an extensive review of all the recorded perfomances of these works in International Piano magazine some years ago. I haven't heard her recorded performance but I did hear her play them all at Klavierhaus in NYC several years ago.

I was quite disappointed(for starters, she seemed to be struggling a lot technically) in her performance consdering her review in IPQ. But perhaps, she was having a bad day. I would assume that to play all these Etudes well in one performance you have to be at the top of your game.

Originally posted by JBiegel: If you can find a re=print of Agustin Anievas' set on Seraphim--his debut cd--quite wonderful.

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I very much like the Anievas recording of the Etudes; I grew up on the original vinyl issue. It's been re-issued on two CDs, along with the four Ballades and 19 of the Waltzes : EMI Classics 7243 5 74290 2 3. It's well-worth trying to find.

I have Zayas Chopin recordings. Her Etudes recording is clean, delicate and fluid. I don't feel that's best of the lot. I heard once again today that her live performance of the Etudes was poor. Maybe the recording was spliced significantly?

My favorite is Perahia-- and while some list Cziffra as a passionate counterexample, I certainly hear as deep a feeling in Perahia's recording as anywhere else-- he's just not so flamboyant.

I like the Perahia recording but I do not like the playing of 12/1 in C Major. He plays the accents too heavily coming down - giving the effect that he is slamming down the semiquavers in groups of four.

Probably Pollini has it for me overall. I like the versions by Berezovsky on the CHopin/Godowsky disc, but of course this is not the complete set.

It has to be Perahia's version for me. Agree with Dreamaurora. His readings are typically very tasteful and deeply felt - never drawing the listener to the performer or the performance but rather to let the music speak for itself. I'm probably not making much sense here but some of you who have heard him or his recordings may get the drift.

Pollini's is also one of my favourites notwithstanding that parts of it can be quite clinical.